Partners in Time
by Pir8grl
Summary: Snapshots of life in Pete's World, with a cuddly little baby alien along to complicate matters.
1. Chapter 1

The Doctor wandered in the direction of the kitchen. He was still acclimatizing himself to this new, partly human body. Some senses seemed reduced to an infuriating dullness, others raised to hypersensitivity, but his hearing had focused unerringly on one of his favorite sounds in all of creation - the delighted laughter of Rose Tyler. From the giggles and coos, he thought at first that she must be playing with the cat, until Charles Dickens streaked past him with a bottle-brush tail.

"Rose?" he called curiously.

"Aren't you just the cutest little thing?"

He stepped into the kitchen and saw her sitting on the floor, cuddling something…something that emitted funny little high pitched squeaks.

"What have you got there, Rose?"

"Not sure, actually. I got it away from the McAvoy's cat."

He crouched down cross-legged beside her on the floor and saw a little white blobbish creature with tiny hands and feet, and big baby eyes. It was squeaking happily and had a hand wrapped around one of Rose's fingers.

"You're a long way from home," he remarked, slipping on his specs to study it more closely.

"D'you know what it is?" Rose asked, dissolving into giggles again as the little thing grasped a second finger and began to swing itself with rather more enthusiasm than grace.

"_**That **_is an Adipose. An infant."

"That good or bad?"

"Depends on how it got here."

Rose glanced up at him worriedly. "That sounds ominous."

"Not necessarily. Different universe. Different circumstances."

Rose frowned, but whatever she'd been planning to say was lost as the baby Adipose tumbled into her lap with a squeal that sounded suspiciously like 'Oopsie!' The Doctor reached across in front of her to steady the tiny thing as it staggered drunkenly to its feet.

"Doctor?" she prompted.

"It's just a baby, Rose. Harmless in and of itself."

"And what if Mum and Dad come lookin' for it?"

He sighed softly and wrapped one arm around Rose, drawing her back against his chest. He couldn't help but smile as the Adipose gave a gurgling little yawn, then curled up in Rose's lap and shut its eyes.

* * *

A somewhat uneasy truce reigned in the bedroom. The baby Adipose had taken up residence on Rose's pillow, while Charles Dickens was draped across the Doctor's ankles.

"Rose," the Doctor began haltingly, "this morning, you said something…the Adipose, you said you got it away from the McAvoy's cat. Was that…I mean, by any chance…"

Rose shifted a bit closer to him and reached out to lightly stroke his arm. "Lee and Donna McAvoy. Maiden name Donna Noble."

"She's here, too," he said, wonderingly.

"Yeah," Rose nodded.

"Do you know her? What's she like?" the Doctor asked eagerly.

Rose stilled the motion of her hand on his arm. "She's funny and wonderful, and so, so brave."

"Sounds like my Donna," he said wistfully.

"Not quite," Rose warned him. "In our world, you were the catalyst for her to discover just how amazing she really was…"

"But I don't - didn't - exist here."

"Right."

"So…what happened?"

"Her husband - Lee - he was in a car crash. A bad one. The medics didn't think they'd get him out alive. Then the doctors didn't think he'd make it out of A&amp;E. Then he was in a coma. But everything they said - every single damn thing - Donna just refused to give up or give in. Everything they threw at her, she just dug in her heels and fought tooth and nail for him. Holding his hand and talking to him when he was in the coma, physical therapy, speech therapy - all of it. She's…amazing."

"She always was."

"Yeah. She doesn't like to ask for help or anything, but...well, once a week, I bring them take away."

"Of course you do," the Doctor replied affectionately.

The Adipose chose that moment to gurgle happily and their fingers entangled petting the little creature.

* * *

The Doctor bounced on the balls of his feet, waiting at the door to the upstairs flat. He could hear the slow drag of approaching footsteps and waited patiently. Finally, the door opened, revealing a pleasant faced man, far too young to be leaning on a walker.

The Doctor smiled brightly, holding up a pizza box and paper sack. "Hello! You must be Lee. I'm John Smith, from downstairs. I'm Rose Tyler's…um…I'm Rose Tyler's," he concluded lamely.

"I'm D-d-d-d-donna's," the other man replied slowly.

"Well then, I'd say that makes us two very lucky blokes."

Lee grinned broadly and nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Rose!" Donna called, slightly out of breath as she hurried across the car park. "There you are…I've been wanting to thank you for dinner. Again."

"It's my pleasure," Rose told her sincerely.

"I really shouldn't let you keep on."

"It's just pizza and beer."

Donna laid a hand on her friend's arm. "No, it's not. It's another hour I can just spend with Lee, instead of having to run around and cook something and then wash up, when I'm already run off my feet from work. You've no idea…"

Rose leaned in and hugged her. "I told you, it's my pleasure. I'm just glad I can do something for you."

"And that fellow of yours," Donna continued enthusiastically, "he's just lovely, he is. He's teaching Lee to play chess. The doctors say it's very good for him, but…I could never quite get the hang of it."

"Me neither," Rose said conspiratorially.

"How'd we get so lucky?" Donna wondered.

Rose choked slightly on that particular choice of words coming from Donna. How could she call it lucky to come so very close to losing her husband forever?

"In all the universe, we found ourselves the two most gorgeous, wonderful, _**perfect **_blokes…and they're in love with us. How's that happen?"

"Like you said," Rose replied shakily, "just lucky, I guess."

* * *

The Doctor didn't quite understand the ferocity with which Rose embraced him when she stepped inside the flat, so he just wrapped his arms around her and held on tight, content to ride out the wave of her oh-so-human emotions…at least, until the poor Adipose in his jacket pocket let out an indignant squeak at being squished.


	2. Chapter 2

"I feel guilty," Donna confessed, watching the beautician carefully paint her toenails.

"Hush," Rose commanded.

"But Lee -"

"Lee and John have the chess set, football on the telly, and a stack of take away menus. They'll be just fine on their own for a few hours."

"That's what Lee said, but…"

"No buts," Rose reiterated firmly. "This is Donna time, you hear me? Mental health day. The caregiver is being taken care of today."

"You're too good to me, really," Donna said.

"You deserve it," Rose assured her friend. "I just wish there was more I could do."

Donna sighed, and rolled her head back against the padded headrest. "You know, sometimes, I wish there was a time machine, you know? So we could go back, somehow, and stop the accident, and all this pain, and worry. But then, I think…well, this is gonna sound daft, but…"

"You wouldn't change a thing, even if you could?" Rose asked softly.

"Something like that. You see, before all this…well, I couldn't even change a fuse. I mean, obviously, I wish Lee hadn't been hurt, but…I found out that I could _**do**_ things, and I wouldn't trade that for anything."

Rose patted Donna's arm, careful not to smudge either of their manicures. "Donna Noble McAvoy, you are brilliant! You're the bravest person I know," Rose told her sincerely. _'Bravest human, anyway,'_ she added silently.

Donna smiled and rolled her eyes a bit. "Still not brave enough to go fishing in the Thames, no matter how clean they're saying it is now."

* * *

The Doctor leaned over Rose's shoulder to kiss her cheek. "You look lovely," he said warmly. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, it was great," Rose replied absently, still studying her screen.

"Something you want to share?" the Doctor asked quizzically.

"Donna mentioned something today, just offhand, but…"

"What was it?"

"She mentioned that she'd heard on the news that the water in the Thames was getting cleaner."

"The water in the Thames has been filthy for centuries," the Doctor scoffed.

"I know."

"Water doesn't just 'get cleaner,' especially not water that flows through a major population center."

"I know."

"You're thinking this is something for Torchwood to check out," the Doctor surmised.

"Yeah."

* * *

Rose carefully checked the hand held scanner. "This is it, then. Whatever exactly it is we're lookin' for, it's here. This is the cleanest bit of the river."

The Doctor double checked the area with his sonic. "There," he pointed.

"I don't see anything."

"Neither do I. Someone is protecting the site with a shimmer."

"What's that, then?"

"Sort of like a force field, only instead of projecting an energy shield, it projects an image. Usually a benign one."

"So, camouflage?" Rose concluded.

"Yep."

The tiny Adipose in his jacket pocket began to squeak excitedly as they cautiously moved forward. Rose and the Doctor exchanged worried looks.

"Should we leave him in the car?' Rose murmured.

"I -"

"Stop, right there," a quavering voice instructed. "I'm…I'm armed."

Rose checked her scanner and shook her head negatively.

"No, you're not," the Doctor said calmly. "Neither are we."

"Why don't you come on out so we can chat a bit?" Rose added.

The Adipose struggled to peek its head out of the Doctor's pocket, squealing.

"Don't hurt the baby!" the unseen voice implored. "I'll come out. I'm not really armed. Just…_**please**_ don't hurt the baby!"

"We wouldn't dream of it," Rose assured her. Well, it sounded like a her, at any rate.

There was a very faint, electronic zap, and the wreckage of a small ship was suddenly visible, where before there had only been the river's rocky shoreline.

The Adipose squealed delightedly and waved its little hands as a short, pudgy, humanoid woman walked slowly towards them.

"He's fine," Rose repeated, soothingly. "I got him away from my neighbor's cat. Not sure what he's meant to be eating, but he's fond enough of biscuits and milk."

"Well, too many sweets aren't good for them, but you know children." She held out her hands and the Doctor gently set the baby Adipose into her waiting palms. "There you are! I was so very afraid I'd lost you, and how would I ever explain that to your parents?" She looked up gratefully at Rose and the Doctor. "I am Matron Aurelia, and I can't tell you how thankful I am."

"It's was our pleasure," Rose replied, reaching out a finger for the baby to grasp.

"Matron," the Doctor said soberly, "I have to ask…the last time I encountered Adipose offspring on Earth, it was a seeding program -"

"But that would be highly illegal! We were on an educational field trip, touring this solar system, when our ship malfunctioned and we crashed. There's an automatic distress beacon, but I'm not sure it's powerful enough for the rest of the nursery fleet to detect. We've been stranded here for days."

As they spoke, more baby Adipose appeared, peeking up from behind the rounded river stones.

"How come the water's so clean here?" Rose asked curiously.

"Well, I rigged the ship's environmental systems to filter the water. Much safer for the children that way."

"Better for our children, as well," the Doctor agreed.

"I don't understand why you let this place become so dirty!" the matron fretted. "Clean water is very important!"

"Well, it's not so easy to clean an entire river, you know," Rose replied.

Matron Aurelia looked at her speculatively. "You know, if you could help us find our way back to the nursery fleet, I expect the babies' parents would be quite grateful."

"Grateful enough to trade us some filtration technology?" the Doctor suggested with a smile.

"I should think so."

The other baby Adipose waddled up curiously to surround the three adults and their wayward sibling. The baby in Matron Aurelia's hand squealed and wriggled to be put down.

The Doctor chuckled fondly. "Looks like you're going home, little one."

Rose tucked her hair behind her ears and leaned down to kiss the top of the little creature's head. "We'll miss you."

"Mind if I take a look at your distress beacon?" the Doctor asked.

"Could you?" the Matron asked, distracted as she tried to keep count of all the babies.

"Oi! None of that!" Rose scolded, reaching out to catch an adventurous baby that was waddling intently in the direction of the river. "How'd you manage to keep track of 'em all?"

"Oh, well, they're usually quite well behaved."

"Good as new!" the Doctor informed them, returning the sonic to his suit pocket with a flourish. "Just needed a bit of a power up. Your signal's broadcasting loud and clear now. I expect you'll get a rescue soon. You know, if you hadn't diverted power to filtering the water, your signal would have been broadcasting at full strength."

"I thought it might be something like that. But, you see, I needed to be sure that the children had the best possible habitat."

"Of course you did," Rose replied, smiling.

The matron eyed Rose and the Doctor speculatively. "You know, this isn't such a bad little planet. I could be quite comfortable here. You will keep me in mind, should you ever have need of a nanny, won't you?"

"We will, indeed," the Doctor assured her, as Rose blushed furiously.

* * *

Rose turned restlessly in their bed. She'd grown accustomed to the little Adipose sleeping on her pillow.

"You miss him, don't you?" the Doctor murmured.

"Yeah, I do."

"Charles Dickens doesn't."

Rose reached out to pet their cat, who was curled contentedly between them.

"We did good today, didn't we?" she said finally.

"We did," the Doctor agreed. "This - today - this is what Torchwood always should have been. Civilized negotiation between species for the common good."

"D'you think our world will ever get it right?" Rose wondered.

"This _**is**_ our world. We just have to do the best we can for it, right here, right now."

"Still…it's nice to hope."

He wrapped her close in his arms, earning a glare from a slightly disturbed kitty cat. "I quite like hope. Speaking of which…"

"Mmm?"

"I'm rather hoping we might be able to offer Matron Aurelia a job some day."

"But she's - we're not - "

"Not yet."

A thoroughly disgusted Charles Dickens scuttled off the duvet in search of his nice, quiet cat bed.


End file.
